Damn it, Ritz. You were always my idol growing up. What the hell happened? You had the best tune-up race of anyone in the pack I knew of, barely losing to Farah over the half. I thought you'd been training to handle surges, but you not only get dropped, but drop out?! Why do Americans like Ritz and Hall always drop out when not having a perfect race? Is it so bad to not just run it home?

Ugh, so frustrating. I thought Ritz might at least get 3rd place. Huge congrats to Abdi getting 3rd at age 39!

Scubacane wrote:I am disappointed as well - can't understand why he hammered it the first 5 k

I didn't see the opening. Why the F was he hammering the early miles?! That's just about the biggest bush league move I can think of. Who leads in the beginning only to drop out?! That's almost infuriating.

Scubacane wrote:I am disappointed as well - can't understand why he hammered it the first 5 k

I didn't see the opening. Why the F was he hammering the early miles?! That's just about the biggest bush league move I can think of. Who leads in the beginning only to drop out?! That's almost infuriating.

Oh, just stop. You also apparently didn't see the Great North Run this year. Had Ritz finished well today, you same turds would be singing his praises about a gutsy run.

Scubacane wrote:I am disappointed as well - can't understand why he hammered it the first 5 k

I didn't see the opening. Why the F was he hammering the early miles?! That's just about the biggest bush league move I can think of. Who leads in the beginning only to drop out?! That's almost infuriating.

Oh, just stop. You also apparently didn't see the Great North Run this year. Had Ritz finished well today, you same turds would be singing his praises about a gutsy run.

Scubacane wrote:I am disappointed as well - can't understand why he hammered it the first 5 k

I didn't see the opening. Why the F was he hammering the early miles?! That's just about the biggest bush league move I can think of. Who leads in the beginning only to drop out?! That's almost infuriating.

Oh, just stop. You also apparently didn't see the Great North Run this year. Had Ritz finished well today, you same turds would be singing his praises about a gutsy run.

You're right, I didn't see the Great North race.

And yeah, if he ran well, why wouldn't I praise him?

You're the classic fair weather fan. You're "infuriated", yet you don't know what his race plan was today, his training leading up to the event, or even how he has looked/ran his tune up race? C'mon, man.

Scubacane wrote:I am disappointed as well - can't understand why he hammered it the first 5 k

I didn't see the opening. Why the F was he hammering the early miles?! That's just about the biggest bush league move I can think of. Who leads in the beginning only to drop out?! That's almost infuriating.

Oh, just stop. You also apparently didn't see the Great North Run this year. Had Ritz finished well today, you same turds would be singing his praises about a gutsy run.

You're right, I didn't see the Great North race.

And yeah, if he ran well, why wouldn't I praise him?

You're the classic fair weather fan. You're "infuriated", yet you don't know what his race plan was today, his training leading up to the event, or even how he has looked/ran his tune up race? C'mon, man.

This makes no sense. I think you are being over emotional.

Unless you really think his race plan was to hammer the first few miles then DNF. In which case, yeah, he executed it to perfection.

It's well-known that you should take the first mile of this race up the bridge slowly, getting an easy fast 2nd mile down the bridge, and then relaxing on the hill up to 4th avenue. And in a marathon, the first mile can cost you your race but will never make it.